Yoko Nakatani

She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Osaka College of Music in Japan, a Master of Music degree at the University of Oregon, and a Ph.D. degree at Brandeis University in Music Composition. Ms. Nakatani was a composition fellow at the Aspen Music Festival and an apprentice at the Chamber Music and Composers Forum of the East. In the spring of 1999 and the fall of 2001, she was one of five women composers who initiated the Women Composers Concert at Brandeis. In the fall of 2002, her composition, “Sayokaze” for mezzo soprano, shakuhachi, shamisen, and tsuzumi was selected and premiered in the Fukuoka Gendai Hogaku Festival (International Music Festival where composers write music for traditional Japanese instruments). In the spring of 2004, her dissertation piece, “Hisakatano” for mezzo soprano and chamber ensemble was performed at Brandeis University. In the fall of 2004, she organized the Women Composers Concert at Brandeis again, as a part of Festival of Women Composers. She is the recipient of Ira Gershwin Prize in Music Composition in 2005 at Brandeis University. In June 2006, her commissioned piece, “Koujou no Tsuki (Moon over ruined castle)” for piano solo, was premiered by Ms. Tomoko Isshiki at Carnegie Hall. Since the completion of her collaboration with Ms. Patricia Callan, “Adventures of John Manjiro” for narrator and piano in early 2008, she has been presenting this work in many venues, such as Mu Phi Epsilon International Convention (Jacksonville, FL), Tenri Cultural Institute (New York City, NY), New Bedford Whaling Museum (New Bedford, MA). She composed a flute solo piece for an independent film, Hibakusha (directed by David Rothauser). In February 2010 and October 2011, she organized a piano recital by Ms. Shizuyo Le Nestour at Berklee College of Music, based on Boston composers' works. Ms. Nakatani gave a recital with Ms. Le Nestour in Japan in September 2010 as well as in Belgium in October 2011, all based on her original compositions. She was commissioned by Mu Phi Epsilon Boston Alumni Chapter for its centennial celebration, and was also commissioned by Lowell Chamber Orchestra to compose a flute quartet piece under their project called “Lowell Threads” in 2020. She was again commissioned by LCO in 2021 for their CD project “Miniature Symphonies”, which was just released in summer 2022. She is the founder of the non-profit organization, Vivace Inc.  Ms. Nakatani studied with Yehudi Wyner, Martin Boykan, David Rakowski, Robert Kyr, Wataru Tajima and Kathryn Alexander.

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